Truth Hurts
by TitansRule
Summary: Revamp of All's Fair. It's been many years since the X-Men were teenagers, and life is good. The teams remain close, raising their families together, but the children have never been told about their parents' younger years, and they're starting to ask questions. Once the story starts, it's difficult to stop, but will Generation X wind up wishing that they'd never asked?
1. Chapter 1

**This is a revamp of All's Fair in Love and War and probably of Of Love and Life as well. All's Fair in Love and War' started when I was watching 'Growing Pains' and I wondered why Lance was so surprised Kitty wasn't willing to forgive him and that got me thinking; what if 'X-Impulse' wasn't completely accurate? What if Lance and Kitty were friends in Northbrook? Would their relationship have been as awkward or would it have been easier?**

**Obviously, in this, you have the answer, because the story is split between Generation X and the earlier time. Most of the story will be told through narrative flashbacks, starting in January 1996 at the beginning of Joyride.**

**This is an AU - the ages and age differences have been moved around, various people are related who may not have been before, and I've taken huge liberties with what I know of the comic dimension.**

**Basically, if something doesn't sound right, I probably already know (unless it's grammatical, in which case please tell me), so please keep in mind that this is an AU.**

* * *

Summer at the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters had become quite a strange affair over the last few years. The number of student milling around the grounds and joining in the various activities never wavered, but the number of students actually living at the mansion had dwindled to a scant handful.

The main reason for this was that the adult X-Men still (mostly) lived on base, in a separate part of the grounds, and most of 'Generation X', as they had been dubbed, went home for the summer.

On this July morning, the summer stretched out in front of them like an endless ocean sparkling with possibility. It was a cloudless day, warm but with a gentle breeze that caressed the tops of the trees that sheltered the collection of houses below them, close enough to be friendly, yet scattered enough to give the families some privacy.

Katherine "Kitty" Alvers had nothing too pressing to do that day, and was pottering around the kitchen, making breakfast, absently toying with the idea of splitting Generation X into two teams for training purposes.

Her husband was sitting at the kitchen table, sipping a mug of coffee while he read the newspaper. His hair was shorter now – no longer his trademark mullet – and his clothes were smarter, although not by much, since he was going to work soon.

Lance and Kitty were both very aware that they were _very_ lucky. The collection of houses on the grounds of the Institute had been partially built by the X-Men, with only a little outside help, which meant that they didn't have a mortgage to pay off.

Because they were on the grounds of the Institute, gas, electricity and water was filtered from the main house. Professor Xavier had offered each couple a choice – they could pay him their share of the bill or, if they preferred, they could work at the Institute.

The extra manpower had become necessary with the sheer number of students that would be entering – mostly the children of the current X-Men. With mutants as parents, their powers had emerged even earlier than usual, making regular schooling almost impossible.

Kitty had enrolled on a teacher-training course and taken charge of the elementary teaching of Generation X, with the understanding that they would then move to Bayville High School when they were old enough.

However, even though the general attitude towards mutants was nowhere near as bad as it had been when the adults were at school, it was still pretty bad, especially at Bayville High, where Edward Kelly was _still _the principal, despite numerous complaints against him.

So Generation X had been given the option, and most of them chose to remain at the Institute and get home-schooled, so Kitty had also taken over the teaching of chemistry and physics, along with Hank and Ororo.

The reason that all of this made the couple lucky was that it meant that they could both enjoy their jobs.

Kitty had never considered teaching until she tried it, but found that she enjoyed every minute of it.

Lance, on the other hand, had always enjoyed mechanics. He'd been fortunate, as a teenager, to find a local garage to hire him, one that hadn't fired him as soon as they found out he was mutant.

It was an independently-owned shop, belonging to a fairly elderly man, who gave Lance more and more responsibility until, one day, the couple had received a phone call from the General Hospital, informing them that he was very sick and wanted to see his faithful employee.

It was only then that Lance had found out that his boss was terminally ill and, without family, was leaving the shop in Lance's hands.

The man had passed away two weeks later, leaving Lance to very quickly learn what he could about business management.

With help, the couple had managed to keep the shop afloat and it was now fairly successful, with several very satisfied regulars who were more than happy to recommend them to their friends.

It had been difficult sometimes, and there had been a few times when they both thought they wouldn't make it, but here they were.

Making it.

With well-practiced fluidity, Lance moved the paper to make space for Kitty to set the plates on the table.

"Kids, breakfast!" She called up the stairs. "Anything interesting?" She asked, in a quieter voice.

Lance folded the paper up with a sigh. "You mean besides Friends of Humanity being complete dicks? No, nothing."

Kitty pursed her lips, but didn't comment. Technically, Friends of Humanity were a legitimate political group, with several important seats in the Senate and, therefore, an actual voice in American politics.

Lately, their play was to pass a Mutant Registration Act, forcing mutants across the country to go on register with where they lived and what they could do.

Theoretically, it didn't sound too bad (aside from being a disgusting violation of their rights and privacy), but the X-Men knew what the government refused to believe – Friends of Humanity were funding and participating in the horrific attacks on mutant children that were happening across the country.

Lance tossed the paper to one side and eyed the pancakes with trepidation. "Did you make these?"

Kitty rolled her eyes. "The mixture came out of a bottle, Lance. Not even _I_ could mess that up. Besides, I can cook!"

"Yes, you can." Lance agreed, transferring two of the pancakes on to his plate. "You just can't _bake_. Pancakes count as baking."

"How?" Kitty asked, furrowing her brow in confusion. "You fry pancakes last time I checked."

"Face it, love – anything to do with precise measurements …" Lance trailed off with a chuckle. "Remember the muffins?"

Kitty blushed, but quickly regained her composure. "Well, this didn't require any 'precise measuring'. Unless you count how precisely I'd need to pour the rest of this mixture so it lands on your head and not on the floor."

"Have I mentioned how great these pancakes are?" Lance asked innocently. "And how gorgeous you look this morning?"

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Smiling in spite of her ominous warning, Kitty glanced up at the ceiling. "Where are they?"

"It's summer, Kitten." Lance reminded her, pouring syrup on to his pancakes. "They're probably still asleep."

"Liam won't be." Kitty predicted and, sure enough, a pair of feet appeared through the ceiling, preceding a teenage boy who floated to the ground.

"Morning!"

Kitty turned to face him, hands on her hips. "Liam, how many times do I have to tell you …"

"… to use the stairs because you don't know who's beneath you when you phase through the floor." Liam finished in unison with her, kissing her cheek. "I knew it was just you and Dad, and you two don't mind."

Kitty shook her head with a fond smile. "Oh, Liam …"

When her oldest son was a week old, Pietro had predicted that he would look just like Lance one day.

And he was right – the fifteen-year-old was the spitting image of his father, right down to his smile. His personality and his mannerisms, however, were solely his mother's.

Loud footsteps on the stairs, heralded the arrival of their second child and oldest daughter, Calleigh, who favoured Kitty almost as strongly as Liam did Lance, except for her eyes, which were the same warm brown as her father and brother's.

Unlike Liam, Calleigh wasn't dressed yet. "Mom! Sprite's done it again!"

Kitty sighed. The youngest Alvers child was actually called Serenity, but her brothers and sister, as well as their various friends and cousins, insisted on calling her Sprite. She was still coming to terms with controlling her powers, and vivid dreams tended to cause small tremors, most of which shook her sister's room instead of her own.

Calleigh was a deep sleeper, and was used to her own sleep tremors, so it didn't wake her up, but it did create a big mess.

"She can't help it, Princess." Lance said gently. "You were like that before you got control."

"I know that!" Calleigh pouted. "But …"

"Serenity will _help_ you clean it up later." Kitty said firmly, emphasising the word 'help'.

"But, Mom, she made the mess!" Calleigh protested.

"By accident." Kitty reminded her. "You made a whole room cave in when you were a toddler. Did we make you clear it up all by yourself?"

Calleigh sighed. "No."

"Look at it this way, Princess," Lance said, "you've been promising to tidy your room since May."

Calleigh grinned sheepishly. Her room had been a mess without Serenity's help since her fourteenth birthday. "Good point."

Kitty turned away to hide her smile. She had a feeling that if she had made that point, Calleigh would not have taken it nearly as well.

But Calleigh Samantha Alvers was the very definition of a Daddy's girl and Lance, although she'd had him wrapped around her little finger from the day she was born, never let her take advantage of that.

_Thank God._

Calleigh and Liam sat down either side of their father, helping themselves to pancakes, bickering playfully over the syrup.

Kitty turned it out, turning to the coffee machine to fill a thermos flash. Her eldest two did this every morning and she knew they weren't really arguing – if they were, they'd be a lot louder.

A noise on the stairs alerted them to their third child's arrival and he arrived with more noise than Liam and Calleigh put together.

"Watch it, Rick." Liam chuckled, rescuing the milk from his younger brother's arms before it hit the floor. "Breakfast isn't going anywhere."

"But Uncle Scott is." The eleven-year-old said, spilling cereal all over the table in his haste. "He's taking some of us to the beach today, remember?"

Kitty chuckled fondly, sweeping the excess cereal off the table and back into the packet. "He won't go without you, Thomas, I promise."

Thomas Paul Alvers had his mother's eyes and smile, and his father's powers, which had led to the codename Richter, and the nickname Rick, meaning that, by now, it was only Kitty who still called him Thomas.

"You sure?" Rick asked worriedly.

"I'm sure." Kitty answered, smiling. "Now slow down. Uncle Scott and Aunt Jean can't take you to the beach if you choke to death first."

"What are you doing today?" Lance asked.

"Lexa and I are holding tennis lessons all morning, and we're setting up a game of water polo this afternoon." She answered cheerfully.

During the summer, to give the students _and _the staff a break, the school ran like a summer camp, and the adult X-Men took it upon themselves to hold optional classes on everything from sports, to art, to music.

Last year, Scott had helped 'Generation X' put on the first dramatic production in the school's history and 'The Taming of the Shrew' had been such a success that he was attempting to duplicate the feat this year.

This time, however, in an attempt to save his sanity, he had started earlier in the year, allowing the students to learn their lines while studying 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' in his English Lit class.

Today, rehearsal and set-building had been put on hold while Scott and his wife – on a rare day off from Bayville General Hospital where she was a doctor in the Emergency Room – took some of the children on a day-trip to the local bay.

"What about you two?" Kitty asked.

"Ben and I are going over lines for 'Midsummer's'." Calleigh added with a grin.

Kitty smiled affectionately, knowing that Calleigh was rather proud of being cast as Hermia this year. "And where are you and Lysander meeting?"

"He's coming here." Calleigh told her. "That's alright, isn't it?"

"Of course, dear." Kitty assured her. "He can help you and Serenity before you start."

Calleigh grimaced, having apparently forgotten that her room was a mess. "Right."

Most parents would have balked at the idea of leaving their teenage daughter alone with their male best friend, but Kitty was in the unique position of knowing that, while Calleigh had feelings for Pietro's oldest son, and he for her, they both remained blissfully oblivious of that fact.

"Liam?" Lance prompted.

"Actually," Liam set his fork down, "I wanted to talk to you about that, Mom."

Hearing the uncharacteristically serious tone in her son's voice, Kitty set her own plate aside. "Alright. Is there something wrong?"

"Not exactly." Liam took a deep breath. "A few of the older members of Generation X were wondering if someone would be up for a History lesson or two."

Kitty raised a suspicious eyebrow. "You want extra work?"

"Not really." Liam said carefully. "Just … you know, the stories."

"I see." Kitty said slowly. "And which era of history were you thinking?"

"Well, the X-Men's history." Liam said, almost reluctantly.

"Liam, you know that." Lance pointed out, taking Kitty's hand under the table.

"No, we don't." Calleigh disagreed, looking between her brother and mother. "We know that the Institute was created in 1990 in order to … etcetera, etcetera. But we don't know _your_ history."

"Our history is nothing to be concerned by," Kitty said, more sharply than she intended, "which is why we haven't told you. There's nothing to tell."

"When we were at the mall the other day, we overheard someone saying that you saved the world before I was born." Liam said bluntly. "That's not 'nothing'."

"Kitty," Lance said quietly, "he's got a point. They'll have to know eventually."

Kitty took a steadying breath. "I know." She fixed Liam with a stern look. "I will talk to some of the others. I'm making no promises, mind you."

Liam nodded. "Thanks, Mom."

Lance checked his watch. "I've got to go. Amy's opening today, but it's not fair to leave her on her own for too long."

Amy was a girl from the local community college, the only girl in her automobile engineering class. She had come in asking for a job, with a pessimistic air, having been laughed out of the last five garages she'd been to. They had taken her on part-time, and then offered to extend her contract when she graduated, which she happily agreed to.

She was quite close with the children, and came round for dinner several times a week.

"Serenity!" Kitty called, as Rick hugged his father. "Daddy's going to work."

Footsteps sounded above them, and Lance ruffled Liam's hair, clapping him on the shoulder, just as a seven-year-old missile burst into the room.

"Morning Sprite." Liam and Rick greeted in unison.

"Could you be _any_ louder?" Calleigh asked, rolling her eyes.

Serenity ignored them all in favour of hurling herself at her father, who caught her and lifted her into the air, kissing her cheek.

"Have a good day, Daddy."

"I always do." Lance said, returning her to the ground. "You're helping Calleigh clean her room today."

"But Daddy …" Serenity began.

"No buts." Lance said firmly, crouching down to her eye level. "You helped make the mess; you help clean it up."

"But it was an _accident_." Serenity protested, her lower lip trembling.

"I know." Lance assured her. "That's why you're helping and we're not making you do it by yourself." He straightened up and pulled Calleigh into a hug. "Keep Lightning in line, Princess."

"Will do, Dad." Calleigh responded as he kissed her forehead. "Be nice to Amy."

Lance grinned at his eldest daughter. "When am I _not_ nice to Amy?"

"Well, there was that time that …"

"Alright!" Lance interrupted, shooting Liam a mock-glare. "I'll be nice, Princess. Happy?"

Calleigh nodded, and he released her to turn to his wife, only to be interrupted before he could say anything.

"Uh oh!" Rick called. "PDA alert!" He leapt to his feet, grabbed Serenity's hand, and dragged her from the room. "Quick! Save yourselves! Women and children and me first!"

Kitty shook her head. "God help us – he's got your sense of humour."

"Me?" Lance asked, taking her hands. "That was _all _you." Cupping her face, he pressed a soft kiss to her lips. "Have a good day."

"You as well." Kitty responded. "Love you."

"Love you too." With one more kiss, Lance took the thermos flask she handed him and left the house, grabbing the car keys on the way.

Kitty checked her watch. "Thomas, have you finished breakfast?"

"All done, Mom." Rick stuck his head round the door. "Is it safe?"

Liam sniggered. "Yeah, it's safe." He put his own plate in the dishwasher, holding his hand out expectantly for Calleigh's. "Do you want me to walk Rick over to their place, Mom? You know, since you need to talk to the others, and all."

Despite her misgivings, Kitty couldn't help laughing. Liam could be very sneaky at times, but he was somehow innocently so at the same time. "That would be a big help, Liam; thank you. Thomas, make sure you have …"

"Lotion, hat, towel, change of clothes, bathing suit, sunglasses." Rick finished, holding up his backpack. "Got it ready last night."

"If only you were this eager to do your homework." Kitty sighed, kissing both of her sons. "Have a good day. Calleigh …"

"I know, Mom." Calleigh put a hand on Serenity's shoulder, and guided her towards the stairs. "C'mon, Sprite. Our mission awaits."

Kitty dropped into one of the kitchen chairs with another sigh. _You'd think it wouldn't be this frantic, it being summer._

And now, she had something to worry about.

_"__We overheard someone saying that you saved the world before I was born."_

There were some things Generation X couldn't be sheltered from – the goals of the X-Men, Magneto, prejudice … Yet, there were still parts of their history that the children didn't know.

They didn't know that several members of the X-Men used to work for Magneto.

They didn't know how bad the prejudice against mutants once was.

They didn't know that the entire team nearly died to stop Apocalypse from taking over the world.

Logically, Kitty knew that they would have to tell them _eventually_ but she hadn't expected eventually to come this soon.

Wearily, she stood up and made her way over to the pin-board on the wall. It was fairly empty this morning, since it was summer, occupied only by a shopping list (not yet long enough to warrant a trip), and a post-it note (in code, of course) reminding her to pick up Thomas's birthday present – she and Lance had finally caved in and agreed to get him a puppy.

Not that he knew it yet.

Above the pin board, there was a row of light bulbs that were attached to an alarm, which were present in every house and were used to call the adult X-Men to training.

It also contained a communication device, and Kitty picked up the phone, before holding down the button that would transmit to all members.

"This is Shadowcat speaking. This is not an emergency – I repeat, this is _not_ an emergency. However, if you happen to be at a loose end and wouldn't mind a debate on a somewhat worrying topic, I'd be ever so grateful if you could make your way to my kitchen as soon as possible. Extra points if you have a child over fourteen. Thank you."

Setting the phone back into its cradle, Kitty filled the coffee machine again and began pulling out mugs, pausing only to allow Jean's voice into her head.

**_Want us to stay, Kitty?_**

**_If you do, you'll have a riot on your hands. _**Kitty pointed out. **_Like I said, it's not an emergency. Liam wants a history lesson, and something tells me he's just the first to ask._**

**_Crap. _**Jean's voice sighed. **_Let me talk it out with Scott and I'll let you know what we think._**

**_Thanks._**

It didn't take long for Kitty's kitchen to fill up, and she handed out mugs of coffee and set a tin of biscuits on the table so people could help themselves.

Jean and Scott, obviously, were at the beach, and a few others had promised the children that they would run various classes or sessions in the earlier part of the morning, but the majority of the X-Men had assembled in front of her.

"What's this about, Kitty?" Amara asked curiously, blowing on her coffee.

"Liam asked me something interesting this morning." Kitty said darkly.

"About our history?" Jubilee asked. "Yeah, Cindy asked me as well."

"We all knew this day would come eventually." Pietro pointed out logically. "I think we should have been telling them bits and pieces as we went along."

"They're too young." Rahne protested. "They're just kids, for God's sake!"

"Some of them are the same age we were when everything happened." Anna pointed out, brushing her white streak out of her face. "Lorelai's seventeen in October. The only reason I haven't told her is because I know she'll tell the others."

**_Kitty? _**Jean's voice asked.

"Hang on." Kitty said aloud. "Jean's making contact." **_How's it going?_**

**_It's freakin' exhausting. _**Jean 'said' frankly. **_But Scott and I have had a chance to talk. We think the older students should be told. We've set the cut-off at fourteen, but it's up to parents._**

**_Thanks, Jean. _**Kitty cleared her throat, cutting through the quiet discussion that had started up during her silence. "Jean and Scott say that we should tell the students that are over fourteen, but it's up to you."

"Well, who is that?" Kurt asked logically. "Lorelai …"

"Like I said," Anna shrugged, "we're fine with it."

"Joey and Monica." Kurt continued. "And Scott and Jean have given the go-ahead."

"Cindy." Jubilee put in. "I'm fine with her knowing. She'll find out somehow."

"Likewise for Liam." Kitty agreed. "Amara, are you okay with Ellie knowing?"

Amara sighed. "No. But, like you said, she'd get it out of the others, and I'd rather she find out from one of us."

"I'm alright with Ben knowing." Pietro put in. "What about Calleigh, Kitty?"

Kitty grimaced. "Only because I know that Ben would tell her everything anyway. What about Adam and the girls? They're not fourteen until October."

Everyone turned to Lorna, who pulled a face. "Not this year." She decided. "We'll tell them next year. What about Angelo and Danny?"

There was silence for a few minutes as they thought about it. Angelo 'Skin' Espinosa and Daniel 'Thor' Walters were, currently, the only members of Generation X whose parents weren't mutant or X-Men themselves.

"I don't see why they can't know." Anna said finally. "They don't have the same personal investment the others do. In fact, it might be good for them to be there – they'll have some sort of objectivity."

"Alright then." Kitty concluded. "It's agreed. Who's going to tell them?"

"You're the Boss." Kurt announced, jumping down from the counter. "You do it."

"Scott's the Boss." Kitty corrected.

"He's got stuff to do." Lorna pointed out. "So does Jean. Leaves it to you."

"I'll help." Pietro put in.

"So will I." Amara added.

Kitty sighed as everyone turned to her expectantly. "Alright, fine, I'll do it. _After_ the play and Thomas's birthday. The younger ones will be distracted with the you-know-what hanging around."

"Alright then." Pietro agreed. "Next question – what are we going to say?"

Kitty sighed. This could take a while ...


	2. Chapter 2

**Just for clarity, here's a list of the members of Generation X attending these little history lessons:**

**Lorelai LeBeau - 16 - October 27th - Remy/Gambit and Anna/Rogue - ability to kinetically charge objects and husk off layers of skin in a form of metamorphing - codename Husk**

**Joseph "Joey" Summers - 16 - December 15th - Scott/Cyclops and Jean - telekinesis and telepathy - codename Search**

**Monica Summers - 16 - December 15th - Scott/Cyclops and Jean - optic blasts - codename Destroy**

**Cynthia "Cindy" Drake - 16 - July 17th - Bobby/Iceman and Jubilee - ice powers - codename Icegirl**

**Liam Alvers - 15 - September 5th - Lance/Avalanche and Kitty/Shadowcat - incorporeal tangibility and the ability to 'synch' into others' powers - codename Synch**

**Eloise Allerdyce - 15 - December 24th - John/Pyro and Amara/Magma - ability to manipulate, but not create, fire - codename Blaze**

**Benjamin "Ben" Maximoff - 14 - April 16th - Pietro/Quicksilver and Lexa/X-23 - speed, enhanced senses - codename Lightning**

**Calleigh Alvers - 14 - May 17th - Lance/Avalanche and Kitty/Shadowcat - geological manipulation - codename Rocktumbler**

**Angelo Espinosa - 15 - March 8th - elasticated skin - codename Skin**

**Daniel "Danny" Walters - 14 - June 10th - weather manipulation - codename Thor**

**I am borrowing some names/powers/codenames from the comics, but I'm just playing with them. I'll put them back, I promise.**

**Also, just to clarify, not all of Generation X call all of the adults aunt/uncle, it depends on the relationship between their parents. For example, Lorelai calls Kitty "Aunt Kitty" because Kitty is her godmother, but Cindy does not. The children of the 'former' Brotherhood members call each other's parents aunt and uncle, but the others don't tend to unless they're actually related. You'll see what I mean as we go. I hope.**

* * *

Chapter One - A History Lesson

A month later, three days after Thomas's twelfth birthday, Kitty, Pietro and Amara were gathered in one of the classrooms of the Institute, waiting for the older members of Generation X to arrive.

"So we're agreed?" Kitty asked. "It's all or nothing?"

Her companions nodded grimly, as the door opened and the ten students filed in, looking almost mutinous. Kitty couldn't help hiding a smile, as their mutinous expressions changed to confusion.

None of them knew what was about to happen, and seeing their Physics/Chemistry instructor and their Politics instructor waiting for them, along with a non-teaching member of the team had to make it difficult to guess.

"Mom?" Liam asked. "What's going on?"

"Close the door please, Liam." Kitty said in response.

Doubling back, her son did as he was told, then took a seat at one of the desks next to his best friend. Cynthia Drake – more commonly known as Cindy – had been born just two months before Liam, and they had been inseparable from the start.

"What's wrong, Mrs A?" Angelo asked. "Are we in trouble?" Now fifteen, the young Latin-American boy had been recruited from the streets of New York at twelve, found by Ororo on a visit to her sister. His mutation – extremely elasticated skin – was difficult to control and had led to a physical mutation that had resulted in his label of 'unadoptable', which in turn had led to a life on the streets. Initially angry and mistrustful, he had flourished at the Institute and was now one of their more laid-back members.

"No, Angelo, you're not in trouble." Kitty said with a warm smile. "Over the last few weeks, several of you have been requesting a history lesson."

Monica's eyes lit up. "You mean, you're actually going to tell us what happened?"

"We've been discussing it." Pietro answered. "And we've decided that you, at least, are old enough to know the truth."

"However," Amara said sharply, cutting through the excited murmurs, "you are _not_ to repeat _any_ of this to your team-mates, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal clear." Monica confirmed, speaking for them. She was the leader of Generation X, the second child of Scott and Jean, but only by a few minutes. She and her brother, Joey, were twins, but she was definitely the more dominant of the two.

Not that Joey was a pushover, by any means. He and his sister weren't called Search and Destroy for no reason.

"Good." Kitty said, hopping up onto the desk. "The three of us are going to start from the beginning, and we'll try to cover everything. It's likely to take several days, so if you want a break, just let us know. You _don't_ have to take notes or anything; this is for your benefit, not ours."

"There may be things that seem irrelevant or unimportant." Pietro added. "There may be times when you think the worst of situations or people."

"The important thing is to keep an open mind." Amara said, bestowing him with a smile, knowing what he was thinking. "And remember that every single member of the X-Men is trusted one hundred per cent."

"Now," Kitty leaned back on her hands, "are you sure you want to know? This is not compulsory, if you want to leave …"

"Hell, no, we don't want to leave!" Joey said, grinning. "We've been wondering about this for _ages_."

"Alright then." Kitty said with a sigh, as Amara and Pietro sat back. They had agreed to let her start and step in later. "You all know the reasoning behind the Xavier Institute and the X-Men, so I won't bore you with that. In 1993, the first students joined – Jean Grey and Scott Summers. Obviously, they weren't the first X-Men; Wolverine and Storm were already here. But they were the first _students_, and attended Bayville High School."

"Weren't they taught here?" Danny asked. He was a relatively new student who had joined them during the previous summer. Originally, he had simply come for the summer, but had connected so well with the rest of Generation X that he had begged his mother to allow him to become a full time student. With thunder and lightning at his fingertips, he had immediately become close friends with Angelo, as the two team-members who weren't related to the older X-Men – not that the rest of Generation X treated them any differently because of that.

Kitty smiled at him. "No, the Institute didn't become a proper school until a few years ago. We all attended the local high school."

"Bet that was fun." Lorelai LeBeau said darkly. "Dealing with Kelly every day." She was the oldest of Generation X, with the exception of Illyana, Piotr's sister, but she tended to switch between Generation X and X-Force depending on the circumstances.

"Kelly wasn't the principal back then." Kitty explained. "It was Raven Darkholme."

"Grandma was the Principal?" Lorelai asked, brushing her blonde streak out of her eyes.

Kitty grimaced. "Yes, she was. Not that we knew that. Well, obviously we knew Ms Darkholme was the principal, but we didn't know she was Mystique. We – or rather, they, because I wasn't here yet – _did _know that Mystique was working for Magneto, along with Sabretooth."

"But Mystique hates them both." Joey pointed out with a frown.

Kitty smiled slightly. "Well, there's a reason for that, which I'll get to in a moment. Mystique's job was to recruit the Acolytes."

"She found the Marauders?" Monica asked, aghast.

"No." Pietro answered, staring at the floor. "The Marauders weren't always Magneto's acolytes. Before them, there was another group that were actually known as 'The Acolytes'. And before _them,_ there was … the Brotherhood."

"I've heard of them." Liam said slowly. "Dad's mentioned them before …"

"The point of the Brotherhood was to combat the X-Men." Kitty continued, as though Liam hadn't spoken. "Or, rather, to stop potential X-Men from joining Professor X and work for Magneto instead. After Jean and Scott, nothing happened for about a year, and then …"

"You wait forever for an X-Man and then four come along at once." Amara quipped.

Kitty chuckled. "Exactly. First was Kurt Wagner in 1994 – Mark's dad," she added to Danny and Angelo, knowing they hadn't had a German lesson yet, "and, at the same time, Jean and Scott ran into Todd Tolensky at school."

"That's when Uncle Todd joined the X-Men?" Liam asked in surprise. "I wouldn't have thought he was one of the first."

"That's because he wasn't." Pietro explained. "He joined the Brotherhood."

"But Uncle Todd's not evil!" Liam protested.

"No, he's not." Kitty agreed. "None of the Brotherhood was 'evil'. Just misinformed, malleable idiots."

"Oi!" Pietro protested.

"No offence, Quicksilver." Kitty said with a smirk.

"Dad?" Ben asked shakily. "Were you …?"

The smiles slid from Kitty and Pietro's faces, and Pietro ran a hand through his hair. "Yes, Ben, I was. For a slightly different reason. Let Kitty carry on; she'll get to me soon."

Kitty nodded. "So the X-Men got Nightcrawler; Magneto got Toad. The next mutant to appear on the X-Men's radar was yours truly, down in Northbrook …"

* * *

**September 1994**

It had been just over two years since they had first met, but Lance Alvers and Katherine Pryde were already inseparable, probably because, unlike so many people, they could understand each other.

On the surface, they seemed to lead dream lives. Both were straight-A students, the darlings of the school principal, and with well-adjusted, supportive families.

On the surface.

Lance lived with his paternal aunt and uncle, Samantha and Daniel Alvers. They were supportive, loving people, who adored Lance _and_ Kitty.

But they weren't his parents.

Two years ago, just before he moved, Lance's father had passed away from a sudden, and entirely unexpected, heart attack, leaving the family reeling with shock.

Not even a week later, Lance's best friend – his mother's godson – had been killed in a tragic accident as he travelled with his parents and brother (who had also been killed) to offer the family their support.

And not even a day after _that,_ Lance's twin sister had been hit with a headache so bad that it left her in a coma.

Lance's mother, distraught at so many losses so quickly, had retreated into herself, leaving Lance's older brother, Eric, to look after her, raise his brother, and get himself through school.

When their grandmother appeared on the scene, a very strict woman who had never approved of Paul Alvers for her daughter, Lance had offered to go and stay with an aunt to give his mother space to recover and his brother less to worry about.

At first, he had planned on going to his Aunt Maggie, who lived in Colorado, but had changed his mind at the airport last minute.

Daniel and Samantha had welcomed him with open arms, understanding his decision and allowing him to grieve in his own way.

Kitty had helped as well, never trying to take his best friend or his sister's place, but creating a place all of her own.

But she needed him as much as he needed her.

Her parents, although wonderful and perfect on the surface, had a very rigid idea of what they wanted – what they _expected_ – their daughter to be in order to be successful.

The stress … the pressure … it was all too much.

It had taken its toll on her health and her body.

If Lance hadn't appeared in her life, it would probably have killed her.

But he had, and it didn't, and she didn't know what she'd ever done without him.

Six months ago, amidst the state-wide panic at the discovering that Illinois lay on a tectonic fault line, Lance had discovered that he was a mutant, and could create the very thing they were all living in fear of: earthquakes.

Bypassing his aunt and uncle, he confided only in Kitty, who stayed unwaveringly by his side, despite the raging migraines that plagued him for the first few weeks.

Now she herself had developed a mutation. That very morning, she had awoken to discover that she had fallen out of bed and managed to pass through the floor of her bedroom and living room, before finally landing in her basement.

This evening, after school had finished, they were standing in the school's administration office.

They may have been loved by Principal Fisher, but they had a mischievous streak to them, and it was this which had led them to their current predicament.

Northbrook High School had, as did most schools and businesses, an internal email system. When the system was first installed, the teachers became fed up with chain emails being sent around the school and blocked it so that only the administrator's computer could send an email to the entire student body at once.

This was, if nothing, a challenge, especially to these particular students, who often found themselves in lessons below their abilities and used the spare time trying to work out how they could beat the system.

Of course, with Kitty's new powers, this challenge was severely diminished, and this was why they found themselves huddled over the computer in question, in the still-locked administration office, trying to hack into the software.

As yet another password came up as incorrect, blue eyes met brown in a look that any onlooker would describe as exasperated, but Lance knew his best friend well enough to know that the system was no match for her and that the look she had just given him was amusement at the lengths the teachers had gone to stop this from happening.

"They'll know it was us, you know." Kitty commented, trying another combination. "There's only so many in this school who would be able to do this and Vice Principal Burgess already blames us for everything including the current state of the economy."

"Yes, but you forget, Kitten, that Principal Fisher thinks that you are the incarnation of all that is good in the world." Lance reminded her, planting a kiss on her cheek, eliciting a smile from her.

Everyone who saw the two together, including her parents and his aunt and uncle, thought the two were boyfriend and girlfriend, as opposed to best friends, because of how comfortable the two were with physical contact, but, for the moment at least, their relationship was purely platonic.

"That's true." Kitty conceded, as the lock clicked and the door swung open behind them.

"Katherine Isabella!"

Kitty winced, her eyes closing. Her mother was the only person who ever called her Katherine, but even then, her middle name was off-limits unless she was in _serious_ trouble.

Slowly, she turned around to face her parents, who were standing in the open doorway with a redheaded girl about Lance's age.

She didn't go to Northbrook High, though; that much, Kitty was sure of.

David Pryde folded his arms and gave the two a stern look. "You two do realise this is breaking and entering, don't you?"

"Technically, what we did was just entering." Lance said fairly. "_That_ was breaking and entering."

Standing up, Kitty elbowed him in the side. "Not helping, Shakedown." She muttered, before saying, louder, "Look, we're sending a prank email. It's not like we're breaking into Fort Knox." She glanced curiously, and a little hopefully, towards their companion, and she seemed to take the hint.

Stepping forwards with her hand outstretched, she gave them both a smile. "My name's Jean. I'm from the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters up in New York."

"Nice to meet you." Kitty said automatically, shaking her hand, but that had given her more questions than answers. She didn't remember applying for any 'school for the gifted', couldn't even remember any tests that could have doubled for entrance exams.

She couldn't think of any other reason why she'd be with her parents, but even that didn't make sense. Contrary to popular belief, Kitty needed work extremely hard to maintain her straight-A record, unlike her best friend, who had the irritating ability to achieve the same grades with half the work, despite the general belief that she was the smarter of the two, which, in some ways, she was.

Their strengths and weaknesses complimented each other perfectly, which was one of the reasons they were so close.

Jean must have seen the bewildered expression on her face, because she held her hand out again and Kitty's school bag, which was lying on the floor beside the desk, lifted into the air and floated into its owner's hands. "The Institute was set up by Professor Charles Xavier to teach young mutants, like us, how to control and use our powers for good."

Kitty stared at her bag, trying to work out if she'd just imagined that. "How did you find me?"

"Kitty …?" Melinda Pryde asked in a whisper.

"Your parents were fairly insistent that we were mistaken." Jean explained, either missing or ignoring Kitty's second flinch.

There had been a reason why she hadn't told her parents about what she could do – there was no way that 'mutant' fit into their 'perfect daughter' model.

"We have a computer, Cerebro, developed by Professor Xavier." Jean continued. "It picks up strange energy signatures and pinpoints the location and the cause."

Kitty frowned, looking back at Lance. "You ever heard of these people?"

"Never." Lance said, folding his arms. "I don't buy it."

"Me neither." Kitty agreed, looking back at Jean. "You have some kind of super-computer that tells you where mutants are, and it finds me, but not Lance?"

"I don't … I don't know how that could have happened." Jean admitted, looking taken-aback. "Unless … Your powers aren't anything to do with earthquakes, are they?"

Lance's arms fell to his sides. "Yes." He admitted.

"That explains things." Jean murmured. "We've been picking up seismic energy in this area for the last few months; we just assumed it was natural activity. I'm so sorry."

Lance shrugged. "Hey, no harm done. So what happens now?"

"Now we go and have a chat with Professor Xavier." Jean answered. "I'm sure he'd be more than happy to …"

But before she could finish her sentence, a tremor rocked the floor they were standing on, sending all five stumbling to keep their balance.

"Lance, tell me that's you!" Kitty said shakily.

"Sorry, Kitten, not this time." Lance said grimly. Another, stronger tremor hit them, and he caught hold of her as she fell into him. "Can you get us out?"

"I-I don't know." Kitty admitted. It had taken more energy that she had expected to get the two of them _in_, let alone get five people _out_.

Catching her best friend's eyes, she saw the same worries reflected there, before he smiled softly and squeezed her arm. "You need to try."

"I know." Kitty said, taking a deep breath. "Mom, Dad, hold hands and grab on to me. Jean, you take Lance's other hand." Clutching her father's hand in her own, she closed her eyes, concentrating hard.

But the strange feeling of weightlessness was nowhere to be found and, as chunks of ceiling plaster began to rain down on them, she shook her head. "I can't do it! There's too many people."

Lance's hand disappeared from her own, and her eyes flew open in time to see him duck out of the group and nudge Jean towards her. "Take them." He said firmly. "I'll be fine."

"Lance, I can't!" Kitty protested.

"Yes, you can." He disagreed, stepping away from her. "Get out of here."

"But …"

"GO!"

Against her better judgement, but with no other foreseeable option, Kitty tried again, this time feeling the now-familiar tingling up her body and down her arms, into her passengers, who, judging by their startled expressions, felt it too.

With one last look at her best friend, Kitty pulled them towards the wall and they passed harmlessly through it to the (relative) safety of the school grounds.

Much of the school had already succumbed to the force of the quake, and Kitty knew she had mere seconds to get Lance out as well.

But as she spun around, another tremor caused the roof of the office to cave in completely, burying the room they had just been in, and her best friend with it.

Unable to hold back the scream of pure horror that escaped her, Kitty lurched forwards, stopped by her father seizing her around the waist.

"It's not good, Kitty – there's nothing you can do!"

Her powers were forgotten as she fought to get free, ignoring her mother's comforting words and Jean's quiet meditation.

The ground shuddered to a halt beneath them, but for Kitty the tremors continued. Her life seemed to collapse around her, and she finally stopped fighting, slumping into her father's arms, sobbing violently.

Her best friend was dead. And it was her fault.

* * *

**Present day**

"But that can't be right!" Calleigh protested, white-faced. "Dad's alive, Mom! We saw him this morning!"

Her daughter's words – the first interruption since she began speaking about Northbrook – dragged Kitty out of terrible memories, and the classroom slowly came back into focus.

She was gripping the desk so hard that her knuckles had turned white, and she could feel tears beginning to burn her eyes and the back of her throat.

"You're right, Calleigh." Pietro said, seeing her struggle to regain her composure. "But the X-Men didn't know that. Lance survived the collapse of the building and was rescued by Mystique."

"Why would Mystique save him?" Joey asked.

"Because Magneto wanted him." Kitty answered, finally regaining the ability to speak. "While we were arranging a funeral and mourning, she was convincing him that Daniel and Samantha knew exactly where he was and that they were his best option."

"Dad … Dad was part of the Brotherhood?" Liam asked. "But why? You said it was because they were idiots back then. Dad was a straight-A student; he can't have been an idiot."

"Oh, he was." Pietro chuckled, standing up. "A noble idiot. Unlike the rest of us," he pretended not to notice Ben's flinch, "Lance could have gotten away with coming here. He'd have managed to fit in at the beginning. But he wouldn't leave us. Dealing with Mystique was always like playing Russian Roulette – you were never sure what you were gonna get. And the less said about Sabretooth, the better."

"But you could have gotten away with leaving, Dad!" Ben protested. "Grandma or Aunt Liz would have had you, right?"

"Patience, Lightning." Kitty said gently. "We're getting there. So I joined the X-Men – still very upset – and Lance joined the Brotherhood – not bothering to let me know he was okay."

"In his defence," Pietro said, "he thought you knew." He leaned on the desk beside her. "You okay?" He asked softly.

Kitty smiled weakly. "I'm fine. I can manage."

"Alright." Pietro pressed her hand, and then returned to his chair. "Just let me know, Kit-Kat."

Kitty's smile grew a little more genuine as she surveyed Generation X. While the adults' interactions had never changed, they rarely acted like this in front of the children. "Anyway," she said, "the next mutant we learned about went by the name of Rogue."

"God knows why." Amara said, shaking her head. "Anna's such a pretty name."

"Mama went by her codename?" Lorelai asked.

Kitty nodded. "Oh, yeah. I think Professor X knew her real name, but we didn't. Her powers appeared without warning and put a classmate in a coma – anyone know how he is?" She asked, turning to Amara.

Amara thought for a second. "I _think _he woke up." She said slowly. "But I'm not sure."

"Rogue probably would have come with us." Kitty continued, turning back to the students. "Except Mystique was running around pretending to be X-Men and attacking her so she decided against it. Not sure I blame her really."

"She joined the Brotherhood as well." Joey concluded. "Couldn't you have explained it to her?"

Kitty sighed. "Rogue's powers … she didn't have control back then. It was a very frightening time for her. She absorbed several of us by accident, and we were all in her head, and …" She shook her head. "It was scary. She was more neutral territory, to be honest; she didn't completely trust Mystique."

"For good reason, apparently." Lorelai muttered. "No wonder Mama doesn't get along with Grandma."

"And then Freddie popped up on the scene." Kitty went on. "Mystique beat us to him, and recruited him." She gave Pietro a warning glance. There was more to the story, of course, but it was hardly a story that was necessary.

"And shortly after that Evan Daniels appeared as well."

"And he joined the X-Men, right?" Ben asked. "Because of Ms Munroe being his aunt and everything."

"Exactly." Kitty agreed. "But Evan had a … rival."

"We had been best friends at one point." Pietro said, more to the floor than the students. "Then … I was going through some pretty bad stuff and I lashed out, and he pushed back, and …"

"They were stupid boys." Kitty finished flatly, earning a giggle from some of the girls. "Pietro's powers had already appeared, although he was doing a good job of hiding it."

"I avoided Magneto until I had no choice." Pietro finished with a sigh.

"How did you even _know_ about Magneto?" Ben asked. "And what about Grandma and Aunt Liz and Aunt Wanda and Aunt Lorna?"

Pietro grimaced. "I didn't know about your Aunt Lorna, Ben, so I didn't know about Aunt Liz either. And I hadn't seen your grandma since I was three months old. Our father told us she was dead."

"You never talk about your father." Calleigh remarked, gripping Ben's hand beneath the desk.

"I don't." Pietro agreed with a sigh. "My father is a man named Eric Lehnsherr. I am Magneto's son."


End file.
